Blog of Voices for Civil Justice: 2016 Archives

December 25, 2016 - 3:15 pm
"If you’ve been wondering, “What can I do?,” here is our answer: add your voice, your stories, your expertise to the robust national conversation that will be happening in 2017."

October 31, 2016 - 2:35 pm
"The StoryCorps app and StoryCorps.me, can be used by groups to record and share personal stories, including as a way to raise awareness about an important issue or experience."

September 29, 2016 - 11:39 am
Last month the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed a new rule that will apply stricter standards for addressing young children’s exposure to lead in subsidized housing. It was the very rule change that Emily, director of the Health Justice Project, a medical-legal partnership at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, called for in her March 5 New York Times op-ed, “Blame HUD for America’s Lead Epidemic”.

August 29, 2016 - 6:21 pm
When a very determined woman, with help from a legal aid attorney and a social worker, finally proves that she is owed $100,000 in back Social Security payments, the story "went viral." What can we learn from this exception to one of the standard rules of attracting media coverage?

August 5, 2016 - 5:18 pm
In the first training of its kind, more than 60 people were trained in strategic communications with the goal of increasing awareness of what civil legal aid is, and why it matters.

May 27, 2016 - 5:10 pm
In most of Voices’ work, we are seeking to interject the importance of civil legal aid into coverage about various social and economic issues. Sometimes, however, we have an opportunity to go directly at our main issue - the crisis in the civil justice system. That is exactly what happened with the recent release of the Justice Index 2016 by the National Center for Access to Justice.

May 10, 2016 - 5:27 pm
On April 24th the U.S. Department of Justice kicked off the first-ever National Reentry Week. Voices saw an opportunity to add to this important effort by highlighting the intersections between the criminal and civil justice systems and drawing media attention to the crucial role of civil legal aid in reentry. We asked JusticeVoices Network members to seize this media opportunity by writing op-eds and pitching stories to local media about the innovative reentry work they are doing in their communities.

April 11, 2016 - 6:28 pm
There is a "crisis in our justice system that has been overlooked for too long by philanthropy and the rest of society," says Public Welfare Foundation President Mary McClymont.

April 4, 2016 - 3:49 pm
First-ever National Reentry Week, April 24-30, creates an opening in local media markets to draw attention to the important role of civil legal aid in helping people successfully build stable lives after paying their debts to society.

April 1, 2016 - 12:46 pm
Civil legal aid advocates use legal expertise to fight for fairness when civil legal issues threaten families' and individuals' homes, health and livelihoods. In March the media spotlight shone on several examples where access to justice is critical.

February 10, 2016 - 2:36 pm
Think creatively: The Super Bowl is one of many news hooks that present opportunities to use your work to communicate what civil legal aid is, and why it matters. If you have ideas for op-eds you would like to write, we are happy to talk you through it and help with structure, edits, and placement.

January 29, 2016 - 2:58 pm
Voices exists to help you. We believe our key task is to bring attention to your work and to empower you to become better spokespeople for civil justice. We hope you will continue to help us do so in 2016.